Since the introduction of the waterbed by Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,356 granted June 15, 1971 and others, the bed industry has experience a revolutionary change. Hall taught that a flexible plastic bag containing several hundred pounds of water must be rigidly supported on all sides. Although there are some circular waterbeds, most are constructed in a rectangular form with the sides formed from 2 .times. 10 wood members. Because of the greatly increased weight of the water, the conventional bedpost supported rail system can no longer be used. Almost all waterbeds are supported by a pedestal which evenly distributes the weight of the bed over a large area of the supporting floor.
Prior to the introduction of the present frame connector, the rigid side members were connected by L-shaped angle members or conventional standard door hinges which were attached to the adjoining frame members by wood screws. While the simple angle member is relatively inexpensive, separate attachment means were necessary to attach the cosmetic corner member which generally is made from a different type wood or contains decorative carvings to give the bed an attractive appearance and cover the end grain of the frame members. The need for separately connecting the cosmetic corner results in a relatively costly manufacturing procedure. The present connector is substantially less expensive than the conventional door hinges.
The screw fastener attached frame members rendered the waterbed relatively difficult to take apart and reassemble. Since many waterbeds are purchased by young singles and young marrieds who move their residences relatively frequently and find it necessary to disassemble and reassemble their waterbeds, the conventional angle connected waterbed frames proved to be an unsatisfactory connection means. Repeated insertion of fasteners, as many as 24 screws, results in weakening the frame connection.
Some waterbed manufacturers have recognized the problems of disassembling and reassembling waterbeds and have replaced the screw fastener attached angle members with the more traditional connectors consisting of a plate with slots therein for receiving hooks from an adjacent connector member. While permitting ease of construction and reassembly, these connectors have proven unsatisfactory since they permit relative movement between adjoining side frame members. This relative movement at best causes an annoying squeaking of the bed and at worst results in pinching the plastic water container and sometimes results in a rupturing of the bag and loss of water. With a bag containing a few hundred gallons of water, the water damage to carpets, floors and ceilings to the apartment below can be considerable.
If the hook means comes out of the slot, the water container tends to extrude through the opening. A tear usually results and the water is released.
Glaser, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,774 recognized the problem of holding the frame members tightly together and connected the adjacent frame members together by turnbuckles.